Hack GU Volume 1: Rewritten Rebirth
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: A chance encounter has rewritten the history of The World. The question is, will it be for the better, or worse? .Hack G.U. but there's no category for that. Angst, tragedy, romance, humor, a little bit of everything!
1. Chapter 1

"Damnit!" He spit at the screen, looking on in dismay as he was effortlessly disarmed, beaten down to little more than a pulp...

Repeat.

He'd only just logged in an hour ago.

Imagine his surprise, and enthusiasm when these two high level players, Iyoten and Aya, offered to help show him around.

And now here they were, trying to kill him.

His character, that is.

"Vak Don!"

WHAM!

Red light exploded before the level one PC character known soley as Haseo, then the spell sprang upon him like a tiger, washing wave over wave of flame across his body, strangling the pained cry that whispered past his lips. Granted, it didn't really _hurt_, but the growl was born more from frustration than pain.

_'It's not fair!"_

Faster than he could blink, his pitiful hit points dropped to one, and he lay there, unmoving as they kicked at his body, taunted him. Why didn't they just finish him off so he could get a game over and warp somewhere else?

But no, they took their time with him, healing him, much to his dismay, only to kill him again and again.

"Still not used to fighting eh?" Iyoten pushed away from the wall and stalked towards him, leering with that creepy grin of his.

"Get...away... Haseo ground out, his hands clenching firmly into fists, clawing at the ground.

But just when he was about to give up, throw the M2D down upon the floor and sulk-

A voice.

"Attacking a new player, fresh to the game?"

Struggling to move, Haseo raised his head to see the speaker, a young man, standing a few feet away from his tormentors.

"What.... the...?"

He pulled aside a strand of smooth, azure hair, revealing a smooth face, the kind you'd only see in an online game, not EVER in real life. His eyes, a faint tint of red, mingled with black, narrowed slightly, lips pulling into a frown as they focused upon Iyoten and Asta.

Shaking his head, he breathed out a sentence.

"How pathetic."

"Oh, fresh meat, eh?" Asta removed her boot from Haseo's back, instead opting to shoulder her spiked broadsword, whilst she herself peered intently at the intruder, Iyoten doing the same as a cruel smirk twisted his features. "Hey punk, you wanna get PK'ed too?"

The intruder blinked slowly, then began to advance, his calm, steady footsteps echoing through the halls.

"Hideous. You're both so...hideous."

Abruptly, Asta's face broke, becoming a dark, murderous scowl.

"W-What'd you say?!" Screaming, the edge punisher whipped her broadsword around, but at the last second, the man stepped back, allowing the broadsword to effortlessly slice through the air where he'd been only a moment ago.

With a flurry of petals, he danced away from the thin blade, a small _grin_ tugging at those palid almost as if he was _enjoying _himself.

"Is that really the best you can do?"

She let out an anguished cry, as his sword found its mark upon her face, taking her down to 0 HP in the blink of an eye. "How pitiful." The man shook his head, rudely kicking her off the edge towards the pit behind the beast statue. Sighimg he ignored her scream of surprise when she fell of the edge. "You think you can do just whatever you wish in this world, don't you?"

"Bastard!" Rounding on Iyoten, the prince, for that was indeed what the mysterious man was dressed like, elgantly, if such a thing were possible of such a powerful attack, seized the steam gun by its edge, and with a loud crunching sound, easily snapped the weapon in half.

Iyoten didn't have the _time _to be surprised.

"Razor's Edge."

The blade, a black, thin sickle of a weapon, blurred before Haseo's eyes, and then...

"Guh!"

Impaled Iyoten, running him through from head to shoulder, then withdrawing his sword with a flourishing twist of both wrists.

"..."

Like Aya, Iyoten soon faded from view, apparently receiving a game over by the looks of it.

Pointing a hand towards the adept rogue, the man spoke again.

"Repth."

A faint, blue glow surrounded Haseo, who at last found himself able to move once more, his HP rushing back to a paltry 150. Dusting himself off, the newbie rose to his feet, and was just about to thank his rescuer, when:

"You were watching, weren't you?" The man muttered quietly, and Haseo now saw what looked like a _cat _on the man's shoulder. Even now, as the adept rogue looked on, the blade brandier gently scratched its chin with a finger. "Wasn't it beautiful?"

_'Is he talking to a...cat?'_

"Um, sure, I guess." Was what he finally managed to say.

"Here." The man extended a hand, and a brief sentence scrolled across Haseo's eyes. "Take it."

_Member adress received._

_'Huh? Member address?'_

"Alright, alright that's _enough Endrance_!" A female voice called from the other side of the room, identifying the man as such as a figure slowly strode into view, dragging something behind them. "After all, I can't let you have all the fun...

Striding towards them, was a dark-skinned girl with numerous symbols around her frame, clad in little more than a revealing set of redish violet armor that really, _really_ didn't do her perfect body the justice it deserved. Pink hair framed her face, from which inquisitive brown eyes shown.

"Black Rose." He replied, clearly identifying her, though his tone became more curt and clipped now. "So... you came after all."

"Of course!" Came the reply, and said PC stopped dragging the two other's behind her, both clearly KO'ed from the huge sword strapped to her back. "But then again, you did just take off like that...

Now tossing them aside, she eyed Haseo keenly, ignoring how they just faded away behind her.

"So, he's an adept rogue too, huh?" She asked at last. "Small world."

...Yeah." He eyed her warily, observing that she was easily at level thirty, and aware that she might easily be in league with those other two. "And who're you?" 'PK'ers', they called them, or, if you wanted to be technical about it, player killers. If these two were PKK's, Player killer _killers_, then he should be alright, but still...

After noting his distrusting stare, the girllaughed and slapped him heartily on the back, causing Haseo to stumble forward a step.

"Oh, relax noob! We're not here to PK you!"

"It's Haseo." Ryou replied blandly, rubbing his back, already irritated by this girl. "Stop calling me a noob."

"You can have the chest...if you want." The one known as _Endrance_ spoke in that voice again, somewhere between a whisper and a shout, yet it still wasn't normal. Turning on one heel, the man waved a hand to the treasure box, which remained unopened. "We don't need it, after all."

Haseo frowned, but still refused to move.

_'PKK's or not, what if these guys try the same thing? And who's to say they won't?'_

"What's wrong? Too scared to move?" The girl giggled, amused at his behavior, and replied with: "Yep, he's a noob alright! XD"

His blood boiled at the remark, yet he didn't swing at her.

The girl arched an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?"

"No." He bit out in an even tone. "Nothing."

"Still sure about that?:)" She replied with a smile that became a wide grin, but somehow didn't reach her eyes once she grasped the hilt of her sword. "You seem pretty testy, even for a noob."

"Yes really!" Haseo snapped back, ignoring the burning sensation in his cheeks, and the stinging in his eyes. "Now quit messing with me!"

"Black Rose, leave him be." Another voice instructed, cutting off the reply. "You've had your fun, but," Once more, the doors to the temple opened, parting before the dark silhouette of yet another player character. "I think he's been through enough, don't you agree?" Endrance and Black Rose turned at her words, with the later, inclining their head in a brief gesture of respect.

"Lady Kaede."

_Kaede_ was a tall, dark-haired woman, and clearly someone of importance by the way she held herself. There was just, something about her, she had a sort of...noble appearance bellied by the formal red Japanese clothing her character wore. There was kindness in her face, yet...sadness, like the ever present breeze, was there was well, pulling at her bangs, revealing the small red tattoo upon her forehead.

_'Lady...Kaede? Never heard of her."_

Now, a bit of sadness shone through her face, she stared at him intently.

"I understand you must be very confused at the moment, master Haseo, but please, be at ease when I say," She now looked to both Endrance and Black Rose for emphasis, and the two nodded in confirmation, "We mean you no harm."

"Well that's good to know." The adept Rogue muttered, kneeling down before the chest to open it-

"In fact, we'd like to ask you something."

His hands froze on the clasp.

_Ah, I knew there was a catch!_

"Ask me what?"

"What do you think...of Player killers?"

"..."

The rogue opened the chest anyway, found what looked like a simple cross necklace, and donned it. _'Well, that's a dumb question'_ Only then did he rise from his crouch, and turn to face those who stood before him, reflecting a mixture of annoyance and irritation when next he spoke.

"Well, if they're anything like those bastards, then I don't want anything to do with them."

"Then, it is safe for me to say you're against Pking?" Kaede replied.

"Yeah," Haseo shrugged. "Guess I am."

A genuine smile bloomed over Kaede's face. Words alone could not describe her expression. It was as if, all at once, that lingering sense of misery and woe, barely visible in her eyes, but still, definitely there, had just vanished, all at once.

"Here."

He was now surprised not only to receive Kaede's member adress, but a host of other's as well.

"Whoa, what're these?"

"Think of it as...an initiation gift." Black Rose flashed him a smirk. "You'll be needing them!"

"Initiation?" Haseo blinked in confusion. "The hell?"

Endrance merely nodded.

"Welcome to Moon Tree, Haseo.:

"Haseo."

The rogue turned towards Kaede, who had just now spoken.

"On behalf of our guild, allow me to say...

Something about her next words, instilled a deep, ill, sense of forebodding in Ryou, suddenly putting him _very_ much ill at ease.

"Welcome, to the World."

--

(One Month Later)

"C'mon!"

Wild glee, bordering on insanity, coursed through her at his indifference, at least, that's what he saw from her facial expression. Then again, insane didn't even begin to describe the nutjob, and she certainly didn't have much sense in the fashion department.

But who _knew_ what she was thinking?

He didn't make another move towards her but the effort showed, as she spat her words at him. "Yeah, it is fucking so. I don't care if you get yourself killed while falling to bits in battle, hell, I don't even care if I'm the one who gets to PK you or not. But if you protect that little _weakling_ because of your goddamn problems one more time-

For the first time emotion flickered in his face, a scowl tugging at his lips. The dull pounding had started again, and now he was pushed himself up- bringing him face to face with her, no longer jovial, but _murderously mad_.

"You'll do what?" He hissed, slicing into her shoulders cutting her health down by a quarter.

She laughed derisively, and sliced at him as he leapt away.

"Don't you think its a little sad, you, in your current condition, trying to threaten me? Especially under these..._circumstances_?"

Haseo frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Oh," She took her time looking him up and down. "Well...

That fine trembling of pent up anger had started to prickle under his skin, his fist clenching at his side.

A dull buzzing sound slowly filled the air, and to a normal player it would have been suffocating. The woman was completely unaffected by it though save for the increasingly bemused expression on her face.

"I think you know what I mean."

His teeth gritted together in anger.

"Well-paint-me-a-fucking-picture." Every word was growled carefully from clenched teeth, as though he were afraid to open his mouth in light of just what might come out. "Because-I-don't-fucking-know-what-you-mean!" Red clouded his vision, he felt, he felt _pain_ as he staggered half a step back, then forward.

"However!"

This time when she met his eyes he was outright grinning.

And it wasn't a pretty sight.

"I can promise you this....

"Your PKing days... are over!"

"You? Threatening me?" She laughed, crossed her arms behind her neck, leaned back in a stretch, and never once broke eye contact with him. "Honestly, what do you think you're doing, little Haseo?"

A smirk, practically feral, twisted his face.

"I'll tell ya what I'm gonna do-

"Those are mighty big words from a man who got beat up for protecting a noob." She cut in, sneering at him. "Would've thought someone like you, a complete and total _noob_, would just give up player killing on the spot like that!"

The effort that had been thrumming along his skin broke, all at once.

_'Bitch!'_

With a roar, he lunged at her!

His fist was a dark blur, but she caught it in her hand as easily as though she'd seen it coming, moving her katana with the same, uncaring force as before. Sparks flew

"That all ya got?"

"Bite me!"

Scowling, she pulled Haseo down by his wrist-

He sagged as her long leg kicked out and connected solidly with his stomach.

Gasping, the rogue doubled over, surprised to feel all the air still drain out of him in one solid movement.

Not letting up, Bordeaux brought her knee up, smashing it into his face and sending him tumbling back, with a an equal level of HP, to match her own. Snarling through the air, the twin blades rushed over her head, but the limber woman leaned back, allowing the weaponry to sail harmlessly past her nose.

Smirking, the blade brandier, for she couldn't be anything else, seized the rogue by the wrist, and in one smooth sweep, disarmed his left hand, and pinned his right with her foot. Now she was left with a free hand, while he was not so fortunate.

"Aw," She sneered, as he fought to get free. "What's a matter little Haseo? Not so tough without your weapon are you?!"

"Gale Blade." He muttered, radiating a thin, golden aura as his body began to warm up for the skill. Her mouth opened in a silent 0, but it was far too late to counted with technique of her own, for he was right on top of her.

Like a ghost, he drifted seamlessly through the air, twin swords strking a host of different weak spots. All at once, the skill trigger flashed, and his hand descended upon her skull like a hammer, bringing the sword down with it.

The vertical slam left Bordeaux reeling, but didn't do much damage. But by the time she'd realized this, Haseo had already put plenty of distance betweent the two of them, sprinting towards the beast temple for all he was worth. A faint smirk touched at his lips when she gave chase, shouting obscenities at his back.

"Get back here, you little punk!"

Heedless of any deception she chased him through the archway-

Just as he'd run through the doors, a heavy crash signalled Bordeaux's defeat at the hand of Black Rose. The edge punisher had been waiting atop the arch for some time now, and by the triumphant shout she'd just given, had finally gotten her chance to strike.

And Haseo kept running.

A flash mail from Matsu confirmed that she was indeed the last PK lurking about in this dungeon.

Score another one for Moon Tree.

Now they could get to the goal unmolested.

Approaching the chest, Haseo found what looked like a better set of armor, though he clearly couldn't equip it at his level.

"Meh," He shrugged, storing the item in his inventory. "I'll just trade it or something."

"Not bad, Haseo."

Instinctively, Ryou turned.

"Thanks-huh?"

There, leaning aways against the wall, was a man. Taking in his attire, orange glasses, and soft spoken manner, and you had a player that _seemed_ normal enough, that is, until you saw the huge _thing _on his left arm. Whatever it was, it looked like a lock or something, but that _clearly _wasn't a normal character edit.

He knew this man, Sakaki had introduced them. He'd even formed a party with him once or twice.

"You're...Ovan, right?" Ryou ventured, confused as to why such a high level player like him was even here in the first place. "What're you doing here?" You couldn't really get much here besides Heal Potions or Steam Plate, the item which he'd just now collected. "Item hunting?"

"You might say that." The steam gunner replied, pushing off the wall with his shoulder, facing the adept Rogue squarely, everything about him suggesting otherwise. "But I did come here for another reason."

Thinking that was it, Haseo headed to the warp gate, only a few feet away.

"Oh, well, alright then-

"Tell me Haseo, have you heard from Endrance of late?"

The rogue stiffened, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"No...I haven't."

The blade brandier had abruptly left the guild a month or so ago, to enter the Demon Palace tournament. Surprisingly, he'd won, in the blink of an eye, toppling the former emperor, Alkaid, from her throne.

That in itself wasn't odd, but ever since winning the tournament...

Endrance had refused to associate with anyone since. He'd become damn near _obsessed _with that cat on his shoulder, before he left that is, and what's more

_'Was I the only one who saw that...thing in the arena?'_

"Oh." Ovan seemed to nod, almost as if to himself, seemingly unaware of the teenage brooding. "Well then, give him my regards if you see him."

With that, he simply logged out.

Leaving Ryou to think.

_'Endrance..._

...Sure." Haseo muttered to no one in particular, suddenly very, very worried. "I'll talk to him."

His good mood had all but evaporated by the time Black Rose caught up to him, and when asked, he refused to talk about it.

A dim sound in his ears alerted him to a flash mail.

"Huh? A message from Zelkova?"

_Hey Haseo! Please come back to headquarter's right away, okay? There's something I wanna show you!_

"Hmm," Black Rose scratched the back of her head, having received a similair mail a second later. "Wonder what he wants?"

Haseo didn't hear her.

"Hey! Anybody home!" Her hand before his eyes drew him back to reality. "Are we gonna stand around all day or what?"

"Fine... Ryou sighed, suddenly feeling weary, and having no reason for it either. "I guess...we'll just head back."

**So, you like the new spin off? Don't worry, everyone will still be introduced, just with some more added emphasis on other's. And Haseo will still be Haseo, so don't worry about too much OOCness!**


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, I heard the whole thing back there." She began, not even a second after they'd gated back into Moon Tree's main area.

"Alright spill it." Rose prodded Haseo with her pointer finger, earning a scowl in the process. "Something's been bugging you ever since you talked to Ovan."

Abruptly, the adept rogue stopped, just before the warp gate.

But all she got was:

"It's nothing."

_'Yeah... a whole lot of nothing..._

Restraining a sigh, Akira Hayami, took off her visor and shook her head in frustration.

"Idiot."

Releasing a pent up breath, she slipped the M2D back on, only to find that they'd both already warped to the throne area.

"Hey! Haseooooo!" Zelkova's voice, carrying from afar, jerked Ryou from his musings, mercilessly dragging the adept rogue back to the here and now. "You made it here safely!" There they were, the seven counsel, fully assembled, with Zelkova waving to them cheerily as they approached.

"Well of course he did." Matsu, leader of unit seven gave Haseo a small smirk. "After all, I was there, and I made plenty sure our little _golden boy_ here didn't get in over his head." He now shrugged helplessly. "Then again, that's more than I can say for our Black Rose over there. _She_ had to be revived a few times."

The edge punisher gave Matsu a glare, which was briefly returned in kind.

"Watch it."

"You wanna make me?"

"Now now," Sakaki, leader of unit two, took a small step forward, and that alone was more than enough to silence the two bickering members. "We didn't gather everyone here to quarrel, now did we?" As always, the man radiated that superior sense of charismatic confidence, drawing everyone to his words. "I'm sure Lord Zelkova has more..._pressing_ matters to attend to, so why don't we just cut to the chase?"

Kaede frowned slightly, but no one seemed to take notice of this.

"Haseo, I'm sure you're wondering just why we've all gathered here-

"Obviously." Snorted Sakaki, earning a glare from the blade brandier.

After a tense silence, Kaede continued.

"As I was saying, the two perform admirably, master Haseo, not just today, but on every mission you've undertaken. You handl" The adept rogue ran a hand through his hair, unable to meet her gaze. "Exceptionally well. Which is why, well, to put it bluntly, we'd like to have you and Black Rose...

"On the seven counsel." Finished Zelkova.

"!!" Their eyes going wide, the two gasped as one, and exchanged a startled glance.

_'Us?! On the seven counsel?!'_

"Wait...what?" Ryou managed to speak at last, only to find his voice cracked, dry, as if he were in desperate need of water. "I-I don't understand."

"You see," Nala, leader of the fourth division now stepped forward, surprising everyone with his unusually soft tone. "Certain circumstances have been restricting my access to 'The World', and regrettably, I myself have matters of my own to attend to. "

His shoulders seemed to droop, as if they bore some great and terrible burden, whilst his eyes took on a faraway look.

"Soon, I may become unable to login altogether."

Haseo froze when that gaze fell upon _him, _and an eery chill ran up his spine.

"Which is why I would like you, master Haseo and Lady Rose, to be my replacements."

Again, the two exchanged a glance.

"_Both_ of us?" Akira could feel the blood rushing to her face, turning it a deep, burning pink. Sure, she'd been playing this new version of 'The World' for a few months, but why on earth did they want her to "Are...you sure about that?"

"Quite." Nala nodded slowly, uncrossing his arms, and stepping out of the circle where he had stood mere moments ago. "I understand your uncertainty," With slow, easy steps, he approached the duo, seemingly crossing the expanse between them in an eyeblink. "But let me assure you, that the two of your are more than ready to accept this responsibility."

"Uh...

"Um...

Neither of them could find the strength to say no, no matter how hard they tried.

"Oh, and Haseo, could you perhaps do me a favor?" Nala asked, turning around.

"Sure, I guess."

"Look after Atoli, will you?" The question surprised the rogue, but he still listened nonetheless. "She joined just yesterday, and quite frankly, I think she could use someone to talk too."

"Yeah, sure." He finally nodded.

"Well, then I must be going." Without another word, or any sort of goodbye, he simply gated out.

"Then its decided!"Zelkova declared, his carefree voice cutting the tension like a knife. "Haseo, Black Rose, welcome to the seven counsel!"

--

"Um...Atoli, right?"

This had to be here, she was standing in the corner, all by herself.

"Y-Yes!" The girl laughed tenuously, bowing jerkily, obviously nervous as she straightened herself out. "Atoli! Th-That's me!" By the way she refused to look him square in the eye, you'd think the harvest cleric was afraid of him or something. " Oh! Umm...C-Congratulations on today's mission Haseo-san, Rose-san, -um...I mean fourth unit leaders' of Moon Tree!"

Haseo sweatdropped as did Black Rose.

_'They weren't kidding.'_

_"The girl's wound tighter than a spring..._

"H-Here!"

The blond extended a hand, and the two Moon Tree leaders were surprised to receive her member address.

"Well, goodbye then!" Without another word, the cleric raced off, leaving Haseo and Black Rose to shake their heads in wonderment.

"So...know what?" Rose asked as the cleric was lost from sight.

"Meh," Haseo shrugged. "I guess I'll logout and check my email or something."

"Same here." The edge punisher nodded in affirmation. "Later."

But even as she logged out, Ryou paused, and realized that not only had he been given Atoli's member address...

But a shortmail as well.

"You shouldn't forget about things like gratitude, or consideration, just because we're inside of a game, huh?" Ryou frowned, rolling his eyes both in the real and virtual world as he finished reading it. "Jeez, what a strange girl...

**Sorry this chap was short! It gave me a hard time! Next time: Black dots....and dissapearances...**


	3. Chapter 3

Why was he here?

The bright lights of Lumina cloth jarred his senses, but they did not compare to the strange phenomena he'd just witnessed. As Ovan had said, the blade brandier had indeed taken an unatural interest in the arena, so naturally, Ryou followed up on this lead.

Endrance had turned into some giant monster midway through the title match. No one had seen it, but Haseo had, he'd been forced to look on helplessly as his friend turned that cold gaze upon the targetm easily crushing his opponent, a lithe twin blade who went by the name of _Alkaid, _with a single sweep of his arm.

What was that...that _thing?_

Click, click.

The sound of footsteps alerted him, and the adept rogue turned, his eyes widened. There he was, seemingly ignorant of all the girlish squeals given by the adoring public, most of them female's from his fan club, Endrance.

"Endrance!" Haseo bellowed, lashing out to grab the emperor by the shoulder when he wafted past.

Like an empty specter, he turned, the faintest hint of recognition in those now dull sapphire eyes.

"Oh...Haseo, its you."

"Duh! Of course its me!" The black rogue replied with a frown, refusing to be distracted. "What was that back there?"

"Oh," Endrance turned to lightly pet the cat on his shoulder, and for a moment, the two seemed to converse, then the blue brandier spoke once more, his tone cold, icy, indifferent. "So then, you can see her too? But that is all, you can see her, but you have no power. It's pathetic."

"W-What did you say?!"

Haseo stiffened as he felt a cold hand caress his face. "Tragic, how very tragic you are, Haseo. To grasp at your dream, only to fall short at the last moment." Ryou didn't have time for anger, he, he _felt _that touch, not in the world, but in reality. Startled, he lurched back half a step, only now stinging from the cold rebuke given by his former comrade.

"I''m weak?" Slowly, Haseo's face morphed into a twisted snarl. This man, the one would become his first real friend in 'The World' was calling him weak?! Without even thinking of the consequences, he lashed out at the player he'd once called a friend. "You-You're the one who's weak here, ENDRANCE!"

Yet his blade froze, an inch from the brandier's face. Immediately, Ryou cursed himself for his weakness. This was a game, you didn't feel pain when someone PK'ed you, all you lost was some experience points. Yet still, some small, lingering sentiment of brotherhood stalled his attack. Endrance remained surprised by the sudden move for a moment, then, with a small frown, he struck.

"Begone then, weakling. Lose everything you hold dear."

For a moment, just a _moment_, Ryou saw black dots. They came from Endrance, and Ryou, he could only wonder, what did it mean, this cold, icy sensation in his chest? He felt it, _Ryou _felt it, the same pain as Haseo. This wasn't right...this wasn't....

Then his screen went black.

--

"A-Are you alright, Haseo-san?"

"Ngh." He muttered, his vision slowly returning to him, along with his conciousness. It took a second, but he remembered the PK. Endrance, he had ruthlessly struck him down in cold blood. What was that just now? He'd been wrapped in agony, almost as if there had been a real sword embedded in his diaphragm. But then there'd been a blinding white light, and it faded.

"Haseo-san?"

She knelt down, and he recognized her.

"Atoli?"

"You gave us quite a scare there, Haseo." A familair figure slid into view, and Haseo was torn between frowning and smirking as he beheled the steam gunner from before, the one who'd tipped him off to the strange going on's in the arena.

"Ovan."

"Here." The steam gunner extended a hand, and a shaken Haseo took it, allowing his character to be brought back to his feet. Ryou was shaken as well, reeling from the dull ache in his gut, where he'd distinctively felt cold steel.

_'I'll take everything from you.'_

A cold feeling of dread filled his stomach, as he remembered the last email from BlackRose.

_'Shit!'_

--

He burst through the doors of the cathedral.

No...This couldn't be happening the two of them were just talking earlier, and...Now this... "Blackrose!" Immediately, he switched over to her real name, one that fell past his lips in a constant state of panic. "Akira, Akira...Hang in there!" He ran over, his white hair in his eyes as he held his friend, whose body was slowly vanishing. "Repth!" A soft blue glow covered her body, but nothing happened. As data began streaming out, the Adept Rogue holding her grew more upset. "Talk to me...Hey, Akira..." He begged, his cold demeanor breaking as he was on the verge of tears. Suddenly his eyes spaced out..._ "Come on, damnit, answer your phone..."_ The player behind the Adept Rogue thought as the ringtone kept going on his end. "Argh, come on...! Please, please hurry!"

Somewhere else in Japan, a young girl was collapsed on the floor. A headset was over her eyes, a controller next to her, and her computer screen was showing a red "Game Over." On her desk was her ringing cell phone...

The doors behind the Adept Rogue swung open, revealing someone dressed in orange, his clothes covered in stitches, with three-bladed twin swords in each hand. As the figure scanned the room, he didn't notice Haseo glance over his shoulder at the intruder. An azure eye stopped at the red mark on the podium in the cathedral, as if contemplating something. Turning, the mysterious person warped into an azure ball of light and flew off...

"Ah!" The Rogue screamed, his attention returning to Blackrose as more and more of the Edge Punisher's data slipped away. "No!" She gave him one last, sad look, a smile on her vanishing face. "No...No..." As the last of his best friend's character vanished, the black-clothed Adept Rogue began crying...She couldn't be gone...No...she couldn't....

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

--

(Six months later)

He looked like a demon, his black armor clinking as he waded through the crowd, receiving a mixture of jeers and boo's from his latest arena bout, but they all kept clear of him and his companion just the same. One of Moon Tree's council members shouldn't act like this, shouldn't be associating with an infamous PK'er but the infamous Terror of Death, a nickname he'd aquired upon joining Kestrel, didn't care.

Moon Tree just wasn't the same after what happened to her. Like Endrance, he too had abondoned the guild in search of something, though he wasn't quite sure what it was. Why did he join Kestrel? Power, he needed power, and there was strength in numbers, strength in this five thousand strong guild.

"Hey, Haseo!"

"Haseo!"

"Yo, Haseo! Terror of Death! C'mere a second, will ya?"

"Bordeaux." He clearly wasn't in the mood as he saw her appear from the chaso gate, just by coincidence. It wasn't as if they were bitter enemies, but neither had he entirely forgiven her for hounding him so relentlessly during his beginner days. Now, he could take her without the slightest effort. He'd maxed out _all _of Haseo's stats, right down to the armor. Now, an imposing Lv. 150 Adept Rogue strutted through Lumina cloth as if he owned the place.

"You look tense." She teased with a sardonic grin, tapping his cheek with the corner of her thorn blade. With grunt, he nudged her aside, instead heading for the chaos gate. However, just before she could log out, she spoke again. "C'mon Haseo, lets go PKing! That'll take your mind off whatever's bugging ya!"

"Tch." Haseo finally muttered, turning back to face her. "Fine, why not?"

_(Sometime later)_

Licking the blood off his blade, Haseo gave a small sigh, the insatiable bloodlust already falling away. Around them lay one hundred ashen grey bodies, the hapless victims of their PKing. Granted, he'd done most of the work, but Bordeaux _had_ helped him get all those rengeki's.

This hadn't much to fill the void in his heart, but he felt better, if only slightly.

"Well, I'm outta here."

"Got somewhere to be?" The blade brandier gave him a quizical look, yanking her sword from one of the corpses.

"Something like that." He muttered, kicking the hapless Negimaru out of his way when the foolish twin blade muttered some incomprehensible insult about him. Not even taking the time to watch as the former stumbled and fell on his backside, Ryou pressed the log out button.

"Later."

--

He input the area words, just before it happened.

From nowhere, the overwhelming sense of depravity smothered him, and he refused to respond to the voices calling out for him, demanding his attention. That burning image of that mark, that day, seared into his skull, now returned, blotting out all else. Had he been able to protect anyone?

Yes, at first, but when he needed it the most, power escaped him. "Blackrose...He whined, Haseo trembled in frustration as was Ryou behind the M3D, the new visor said edge punisher had bought him, a sort of pre-gift before they met in real life. His hands shook. His conciousness started to leak away, like water from a cracked vase, replaced by a bitter sense of regret and sadness.

_"Why?"_

Deep in the recesses of his mind, he pressed between his eyebrows, hard enough that his nails hurt.

_It_ hurt.

_"WHY?! Why couldn't I protect anyone?!"_

A splitting pain filled his body, then a terrible scratching sound filled his ears. It was almost as if his heart were attempting to claw its way out from his chest.

_'Not fair, its not fair, not fair, not fair....I need to get stronger...._

**I AM.**

_'I need strength._

**I AM HERE.**

Amber eyes split open, greeted by the endless white once more. "You again!" It was back, that strange, smothering prescence, and that voice, that whisper that he couldn't quite focus on, yet was always there, like a cold icy hand, clamped down upon his shoulder.

_Welcome. _It, a new voice replied, coming from a private chat. _I've been waiting for you._ Slowly, ever so slowly, the fog fell away, leaving him on cold, solid ground. _Come, we have much to discuss._ Before him, lay a stunning landscape, the red sky, filled with small, dancing white lights the size of dime's, something that looked like it was fresh out of a bad sci-fi flick.

It was the lost ground, Hul Granz Cathedral.

A cathedral stood there on the lonely island in the middle of a dry, cauldronlike lake. The imposing stone building, lined with needlelike towers, was the kind of structure you'd find in some online game, a mixture of the styles from various eras, Romanesque, Gothic. The bridge leading away from it did not reach to the far back of the dry lake, rather breaking off halfway _over _the lake bed, and this was where he and the chaos gate stood.

"You gotta be kidding me." This he muttered to himself, reaching out to touch one of the dancing lights, but it danced away from his touch, hovering before his nose, then darting towards the gate. "This is the place?"

Not thinking, he followed, but the ancient stone door soon barred his path. Strange runes were inscribed upon it, and he felt a strange sense of excitement and dread when his fingers ran over the symbols. "What is this? Is someone in there-whoa!

He lurched back in surprise as the ground trembled beneath his feet. _Please, _and the doors, heavy stone facets without any sort of handle, parted at his touch, beckoning inwards as they fell away to some invisible grip. _Enter._

There, amid the shafts of light slanting in through the windows of the central chamber stood a figure, dressed in all black.

Before the individual lay an altar, and upon that altar was a statue. It depicted a stone sword, but the sword was embedded in the shrine, held fast by eight length of chains.

_There used to be a statue here. _The figure turned now, and Ichigo gasped, for he found himself face to face with Atoli for a moment. _Well, Haseo?_ But that didn't make any sense, and even he could feel the confusion wellinh up inside, demanding answers. No, Atoli, she was definitely _offline_, so who the heck was out _here?_

_Hehehe. _

Laughter.

The fake was laughing, one hand restraining a giggling fit as her body doubled over, sides shaking in merriment as she gasped for breath between giggles. This did not please Ryou, not one bit.

"Hey! What's so damn funny, huh?!"

_I apologize for the calling you out here on such short notice, Haseo-san. _The doppleganger suddenly stopped laughing and smiled then. Now, the voice that came out was not Atoli's, but a softer, more whispery tone, akin to the autumn wind blowing the leaves of fall. _But I believe you and I...we're after the same thing._

"No!" He hollered at her, distressed at what had been done, and part of it seeped over into his facial features, contorting his visage into an angry scowl. "Stop it! You're creeping me out! Stop looking at me with Atoli's face!"

Her smile turned to vinegar.

_What?_

He blinked, and everything changed.

The short tresses of her hair, Atoli's blond hair, faded to a rich, sparkling silver, darker than the night itself. Her eyes, formerly those of amber brown, now became a light, orphan blue., The colors of her outfit shimmered for a moment, before white gave way to a startling black, and green to grey.

"W-Who are you...?" He finally managed.

_A player in the World, just like yourself.. _She replied simply, her full lips, coated in black lipstick, curving into a wry smile before closing back into a thin line. _Or maybe just a curious stranger. Funny, isn't it? Do I remind you of someone?_

He blinked in confusion.

_Oh. _She sighed, a small frown marring her face, one pale finger dotting her forehead in minor exasperation. _You probably want a name, don't you?_

...Yeah." Haseo replied blandly. "That'd be a good place to start."

_Shino. _The cleric replied finally, but before he could speak, she held up a hand. _Tell me Haseo, do you know Tri-Edge?_

"You know Tri-Edge?!" Immediately he was alert, all senses locking on this mysterious cleric.

_You might say that, _She replied quietly, glancing away, her eyes falling upon the crisscrossing symbol etched into the altar. _I know where he'll strike next. _The words hung there, motionless for a moment, before he grasped their meaning.

"What?" All the air rushed out of him at once. "You know where he is?!" Where?!"

_Here. _She extended a hand now, and the words scrolled across the screen. _Take this. I'll email you first thing tomorrow._

MEMBER ADDRESS RECEIVED.

What?

Ryou didn't want this!

_Well then, I'll see you later, Haseo. _she smiled softly, sweetly, logging out even now. _Maybe we can form a party or something sometime?_

And then she was gone.

Leaving Haseo with not answers, but many, _many_ questions.

--

_And so that...was how I met Shino. She looked just like Atoli, but her personality, it was so...so different. I made another friend that day, but still, still, the emptiness didn't go away. It was like...a black hole...eating up my heart. _

_Bordeaux, Atoli, Shino, Endrance. Four players that I don't understand, and each holds a piece of the puzzle._

_Akira..._

_I'll do anything to save her._

_Anything._

--

**Next time: Tri-Edge returns, and Data Drain. **


End file.
